The Orange (I guess they dropped the "men" part to be PC) travel to Tallahassee today to take on the #4 Seminoles at noon on ABC.
Syracuse will be a different sort of opponent for the Noles as they feature an aggressive, blitzing 3-3-5 defensive alignment. The Orange are only allowing 19 points per game, although they did get burned by Clemson and North Carolina. The 3-3-5 scheme was invented by Syracuse DC Rocky Long. Linebacker Marlowe Wax is thriving in the system with 45 tackles, three forced fumbles and an interception. 'Cuse has 12 takeaways, including four in their win over Purdue.
"You're not going to see a team that brings more variations of pressures," FSU coach Mike Norvell said, "They can blitz everybody on the field at some point."
FSU OC Alex Atkins said, "Rocky knows how there's nothing you really can show him that he hasn't seen or had an answer for."
The Orange offense relies heavily on the run, even more so with star tight end Oronde Gadsden Jr. out for the season due to injury. QB Garrett Shrader is a threat to pass, but the 6-foot-4 signal caller is especially dangerous with his feet and has 29 career rushing TDs. Limiting big runs will be the key to victory.
Star wide receiver Johnny Wilson left the VaTech game with an undisclosed injury and is questionable for today's game. Ja-Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier didn't catch any passes last week, But Poitier was praised by Norvell for his blocking, while Douglas adjusted well to an underthrown pass but dropped it. Still, having them back from injury (and hopefully Darion Williamson stepping up more) should enable FSU to open up the playbook and exploit Syracuse's aggressive defense.
Finally, FSU has to clean up the penalties. They were flagged 12 times for 99 yards last week. Although there were some horrible calls from the ACC refs (BAU), a number of them were of the pre-snap variety, and those mental mistakes have to stop.
Weather Report: Partly sunny, with a high near 83. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Virtually no chance of rain.
FSU is favored by 17.5.
GO NOLES!
Syracuse will be a different sort of opponent for the Noles as they feature an aggressive, blitzing 3-3-5 defensive alignment. The Orange are only allowing 19 points per game, although they did get burned by Clemson and North Carolina. The 3-3-5 scheme was invented by Syracuse DC Rocky Long. Linebacker Marlowe Wax is thriving in the system with 45 tackles, three forced fumbles and an interception. 'Cuse has 12 takeaways, including four in their win over Purdue.
"You're not going to see a team that brings more variations of pressures," FSU coach Mike Norvell said, "They can blitz everybody on the field at some point."
FSU OC Alex Atkins said, "Rocky knows how there's nothing you really can show him that he hasn't seen or had an answer for."
The Orange offense relies heavily on the run, even more so with star tight end Oronde Gadsden Jr. out for the season due to injury. QB Garrett Shrader is a threat to pass, but the 6-foot-4 signal caller is especially dangerous with his feet and has 29 career rushing TDs. Limiting big runs will be the key to victory.
Star wide receiver Johnny Wilson left the VaTech game with an undisclosed injury and is questionable for today's game. Ja-Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier didn't catch any passes last week, But Poitier was praised by Norvell for his blocking, while Douglas adjusted well to an underthrown pass but dropped it. Still, having them back from injury (and hopefully Darion Williamson stepping up more) should enable FSU to open up the playbook and exploit Syracuse's aggressive defense.
Finally, FSU has to clean up the penalties. They were flagged 12 times for 99 yards last week. Although there were some horrible calls from the ACC refs (BAU), a number of them were of the pre-snap variety, and those mental mistakes have to stop.
Weather Report: Partly sunny, with a high near 83. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Virtually no chance of rain.
FSU is favored by 17.5.
GO NOLES!
